Every Picture Is a Compromise
Lessons from the Also-rans
Most photography websites show the photographer's very best work. Wonderful. But that's not the full story of a creative life. If we want to learn, we'd better pay attention to the images that aren't "greatest hits" and see what lessons they have to offer. Every picture is a compromise — the sum of its parts, optical, technical, visual, emotional, and even cosmic – well, maybe not cosmic, but sometimes spiritual. Success on all fronts is rare. It's ok to learn from those that are not our best.
This is a series about my also-rans, some of which I've been able to improve at bit (i.e., "best effort"), none of which I would consider my best. With each there are lessons worth sharing, so I will.
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Original digital capture
Potential Project Ideas Week
I'm on a two-month long trip to the West coast to do some photography and a couple of presentations. This week, I'll explore some potential projects from my first couple of weeks on the road.
What I saw that I liked:
Niagara Falls are impressive — and a bit intimidating. I tried to photograph the falls themselves (for reasons I can't justify).
What I don't like in the picture:
As I was leaning over the edge to eek out a bit more of the tumbling waters, I noticed that tourists were doing the same. I kept thinking about dropped cameras or phones, or worse.
What I learned:
That feeling became another experience that I thought I might be able to capture in a photo. Fortunately, lots of tourists unknowingly cooperated in my compositions. Here again, I'm not sure I need six images in a project to express this feeling, but I'll play around with the images when I have allowed them to simmer a bit. Maybe after I get home I'll have some ideas. The only thing I can imagine now is to combine them with shots I have of tourists leaning over the railings at the Grand Canyon and the South Dakota Bad Lands. |
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